In a weekly blog called simply, "Call Me Catherine", her online posts have informed, challenged and engaged a community of thousands on an often misunderstood topic.
Her blog posts on the Facebook page for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto have been equally well received, and have served to raise awareness of mental health issues throughout Canada.
Now, the Toronto Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) has named Dr. Catherine Zahn, President and CEO of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), as this year's IABC/Toronto Communicator of the Year.
She initiated Town Hall meetings that have become standing-room-only events, and meets regularly with board members, donors, executives, administrative leaders, clinical staff, patient advocates, and family members to ensure a clear channel of communication.
"Dr. Zahn is a true leader in communication - consistently educating and advocating with both external and internal audiences," noted Trell Huether, IABC/Toronto President. "Mental health is a complex topic, but she is successful in drilling it down to a simple call to action: discover, discuss and demand."
Her interviews on CBC Radio's Metro Morning and her letters to the national newspapers have continued to stimulate important public debate. Her personal communications on such sensitive topics as the banning of smoking in her hospital have won her accolades for communications skills on the international stage.
In his letter of support for the nomination, Chair of the CAMH Board of Trustees, Daniel Burns, wrote, "[I]n reviewing her performance at CAMH, in public forums and as our representative in the media - both traditional and social media - it is safe to say that Catherine is far and away the most talented communicator I have had the pleasure of working with."
Dr. Zahn will formally receive the IABC/Toronto Communicator of the Year Award on March 20, 2012, at a special recognition and networking event.
Communications professionals from across the GTA were asked to submit nominations for an industry leader who they believed deserved to be recognized for his or her communication excellence. From there, a panel of four past IABC/Toronto presidents reviewed all of the nominations in detail. After close review, nominees who met certain criteria of the award were researched further through interviews between panel members and the nominee's communications team. The panel then discussed the interviews and selected a winner.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada's largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, as well as one of the world's leading research centres in the area of addiction and mental health. CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre. CAMH combines clinical care, research, education, policy and health promotion to transform the lives of people affected by mental health and addiction issues. Its central facilities are located in Toronto, Ontario, with nine offices across the province to provide support to the mental health system.
With more than 1,750 members, IABC/Toronto is the largest IABC chapter in the world. The organization provides these members with multidisciplinary resources and a global network of close to 14,000 communicators in 80 countries, working in diverse industries and disciplines to identify, share and apply the world's most effective communications practices. http://toronto.iabc.com.